For Greed
by By the Billions
Summary: Greed infects. Greed corrupts. Greed controls. Greed destroys. The heart he didn't know he possessed had already been infected.


_**Heyo, this has been completely edited through hours if slaving away at the keyboard.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters.**

**_Anyway, thank you from the bottom of my dead heart!_**

Japan was always bright and active. In the foggy mornings of busy cities, no one would be able to notice things that were less bright and active. Lately, there's been a tense feeling in the air. According to the news, one of the world's most dangerous criminals was hiding right in the heart of their beloved country.

The room was pitch black and her eyes were achingly visible, though it was wasted since they were practically blind in the light, or rather absence of it. The blackness of it all consumed every inch. Not even the blinding lights from buildings not too far away from it could penetrate the darkness.

For one reason or another, the lights had been killed and the entire area was silent. It was eerie, like someone was going to grab a person from the shadows. Maybe the darkness just had that effect, but the girl shivered hopelessly, though she knew that it was only paranoia that threatened her.

While she tried to move from one place to another, a soft light flickered on. It was small enough to assume that the light came from a lone person, not a large circuit. The girl held her breath, not sure what to expect. She had presumed she was alone in a large, recently-abandoned building. That wasn't the case now that a few beams of light flicked from multiple sources.

The light had broke the darkness, but just barely. Only single spots could be seen, leaving a large percentage of the room to be unexplored and hazardous. The girl almost didn't notice the light, seeing of how little use it gave her. That little beam of light actually made things a lot harder than necessary.

After jumping from her spot underneath a wooden table, the girl decided that the hiding spot was no longer safe. It had probably had never been safe in the first place. She went to duck under something she faintly recognized as a drawer. The large, dusty thing hid her entire figure well, meaning a better chance of not getting caught. Her feet quietly scraped the floor in her hurry and there was a good chance that the person holding the faint lights had her in the quiet room. She winced, hoping that that wasn't the case.

Since the worst thing for the girl at the moment was her likability of getting caught, she decided not to test the waters too much. She froze in place, trying hard to become one with the inanimate objects. It was actually easier than she had pictured. The overall blindness level of the room gave her a large advantage. If she was caught, maybe she could escape a little.

"Guys, did you hear something?" A man now recognized as one of her pursuers asked. Since there were more than two people involved in her capture, there weren't many chances of her slipping out unnoticed. That was especially because the man had heard the nearly audible scraping of her feet.

"Yeah, one of those scumbags must still be in here." Another man replied.

No matter how risky the situation was, she couldn't help but silently scoff at his use of scumbag. Not everyone could stand on a golden pedestal of goodness. Maybe he was just saying what someone else said, but he also others the same offensive term. She was just one of the many scumbags he listed. Though she was in no position to have this thought right at the moment, she couldn't help but warning him to watch his dirty mouth in her mind.

If the situation permitted less men to be on her tail, she would have happily jumped from her hiding spot and give one of them a few pieces of her mind. Doing that in this situation would cause a lot more trouble than the joy it would've brought. She was ready to pounce of one of them, having no weapons in her possession.

Whispers rose, all coming from a single area behind the beams of light. Keep in mind that those whispers were very loud, since this certain group of pursuers couldn't use their indoor voices very effectively. In most cases, that would have been one of the most useful advantages to have over an enemy, to be able to accurately listen to their private conversations, but this case was sadly not counted for that. They talked about nothing of use, just thoughtless words that did nothing to the scene.

Luckily, they all came to the conclusion that the person they were after was not in the current setting. Even though that was a large and lazy mistake, they had slowly filed out. There were a couple of dissatisfied grunts and disappointed mumbles, but they all seemed ready enough to leave the creepy room. Before they could, something had to stop them.

The lights of the ceiling flashed on in a bright and harmful blur, blinding everyone in the room for a split moment. Being in complete and utter darkness had caused them to be more vulnerable to that light. It definately irritated everyone's eyes. If the girl weren't blinded herself, she could've took that single moment to escape.

The first group who had entered minutes ago were the criminal group, obviously. They really weren't that impressive as a group, but they did have something going for them. Though in reality, it wasn't very much of an advantage. The criminals had gotten here first. They were the first ones who had entered the room in search of the girl. The I saw it first rule didn't actually apply to more than a kindergarten classroom.

Criminals usually didn't look so much like the ones from television or books, but in this case, they looked exactly liked those stereotypes. The girl had known for awhile that she was being tracked down by a large, possibly illegal organization. She just didn't think they didn't have anyone better to send. While she was relieved, she was also highly offended.

The newest group was obviously some kind of police force. There was too much to say about them. Not only were their appearances largely varied, but they also didn't seem like a very good team. She didn't underestimate them based on appearance just yet. They were actually clever enough to find and turn on the lights instead of hunting in an almost humiliating darkness.

There were only three men present in the police force group. The oldest was a man who seemed to be a bit past his prime, with graying brown hair that ran in oddly organized streaks. He looked like the more respectable man of the group. There was another man with a an afro hairstyle. It was odd to see it on someone in Japan, but other than that, he looked to be an average man. The youngest, the girl saw, was obviously the black sheep. He didn't have an intelligent aura and seemed to drag along with the other two, unsure of what to do.

Since the lights were on, there was no way anyone would miss that slither of a shadow she produced. It couldn't have been hid by the drawer now. If she did not move out on her own, she would've been shot at until she did. Having been shot at quite a lot, that option was not very desirable in her mind.

Her job was a bit hardcore. She was an one of the top criminals working in the Underground. It was a complex system of crime and justice, consisting of both the unlawful and law enforcers. The Underground was a respected and well-known name, but little was known about what actually went into consistency there.

Ironically enough, the criminals and the ones who judged them depended on each other. There was barely any bad blood in the Underground since everyone a part of it knew exactly how things worked. Most didn't choose that lifestyle and most couldn't blame them for it.

The girl was a respected criminal, respected by both sides of the Underground. Her skill in crime and skill in general was impressive enough to have her alliance to be well known. That alliance was Greed. Most addressed her a Avarice, a more feminine version of the dark name.

The pretty little criminal slipped out from her spot behind the drawer quickly. She wanted to hurry things along and let herself be caught out in the open. It was a move that even amateur criminal wouldn't have attempted. Then again, Avarice was known for her unorthodox methods.

"Well, looks like you managed to hide from us. I'm impressed." one of her criminal pursuers said.

Avarice scoffed at his words. There was a large chance that a dinosaur could hide from them. She couldn't help roll her eyes a bit, too. He seemed to think that his group were something of amazing. When you haven't been arrested for awhile in the business of crime, your head will inflate along with your ego. Avarice had known it all too well and she knew that it happened most with newbies.

She opened her mouth to respond to the criminal, but was interrupted by the policeman who sported the afro. "You have the right to remain silent." He told her with a sense of pride. He, like others who worked for the law, had felt that they had done something to better the world and protect the innocents that roamed upon it.

Avarice crossed her arms in annoyance. As a child, she had watched countless crime shows. Not once had she not heard that cliche line. Surprisingly, it was the first time she had heard that line directed to her. It sounded more idiotic than she once believed. Her dream of being a cool policewoman died long, long ago.

The young lady opened her mouth to speak, but was once again rudely cut off. "You phonies think you got some respect around here?" another criminal man asked with a loud, unattractive cackle. His groupies followed along with the same ugly laughs while slapping each other on the back. Maybe these kinds of criminals laugh like this on purpose, she thought, to try and bring truth to the childish stereotypes.

While on the topic of childish, anyone could say that Avarice herself was quite childish. She would not give up without some form of defiance and refused to lose any kind of battle, no matter the importance. That meant that her child-sized patience would not hold for long if she were to keep being disregarded.

The old man from the police force seemed to be offended by their outburst and fits of laughter. Chances are, he saw his job as honorable and as something for people of good nature. He didn't seem to like that some people didn't have the same opinion, but he thankfully kept his mouth shut, not starting an argument.

Poor Avarice dared to open her mouth again, but the same ritual continued. Before he words could escape, something had to get in the way. She took a few breaths to calm herself down, but it was hard when she was cut off the third time in a row. Not many girls could go this long with thoughts they want to convey. Even fewer could stand to be interrupted when they really had something to say. Avarice, who usually didn't faze in these moments, seemed to be near her limits.

The source of the interruption was not from a person in the vicinity, luckily. If that person was, Avarice couldn't guarantee that she would stop herself from slamming his face into the cemented floor when her patience dried out. It was actually a phone that dared to chop her words short.

The phone was held up by the youngest policeman, who seemed to fumble a bit since he realized he had held it upside-down. It had completely ruined the effect of the Gothic-style letter L slowly came to on the screen surrounded by a blank kind of white.

A bit of static sounded after a few seconds. Everyone stayed silent, eyes glued to the screen as if a charm was cast upon the entire room. Avarice found herself staring with a giddy excitement. She had never imagined that in all her years she would get to see L. L was not just a letter on the screen of a rather unimpressive phone, but so much more.

Avarice smiled a bit in the pause of scenario. If things had turned out like a police movie, she would've been caught in a dangerous high speed chase. She would be on the run, probably in a "borrowed" car trying to get away from everyone. Right now though, everyone seemed equal, all equally curious as to the L on the screen.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Avarice. I hope you aren't too disappointed to see me." a synchronized voice sounded from the phone.

L wasn't a name anyone could just use for convenience. Everyone in the room seem to come up with their own aha! moments. The criminals, Avarice included, were meeting a figure that the greatest of miracles had trouble creating. Though the criminals didn't feel so good about meeting someone who dedicated their life's work to capturing them, Avarice was in a completely different state of mind.

Avarice could never imagine to meet such an idolized figure. Though she was never too interested in the detective, it still felt amazing to meet him. To see someone who was on the exact opposite side of the spectrum was a rare event in anyone's life. She was this terrible troublemaker while he was this extreme law enforcer. She couldn't have been more curious on how things were on the side of what most claim to be justice.

The more barbarian of the two different kinds of criminals tried hard to doubt L. They wanted to believe, somehow, that the person on the other side of the phone screen was not L. It was hard for people to imitate L since rumors had it that anyone who did would suffer a large misfortune. The lone letter L was intimidating enough, but to be absolutely sure you were somehow communicating with the real L was an experience was a life-changing experience all by itself. Maybe not yet, but maybe her life would be changed.

Now finally meeting the infamous L, Avarice knew she had no way of escaping. He might have her on surveillance and she couldn't exactly get away without anyone on her tail. Instead, she decided to let things flow with the wind. If the winds were rough today, she would have to just try and follow them. If they were mild, she would walk along and enjoy the ride either way.

"What are you talking about? I didn't expect to meet you of all people during this little expedition, but it's an honor. I hope you yourself aren't too disappointed with the case, Mr. Detective." she replied casually. It masked her breathlessness that she felt, being able to talk to someone of that nature. Then again, if she couldn't hide her emotions, then she couldn't very well call herself a decent criminal.

The people of the police force were a bit more unsettled at her lack of intimidation. They were hundreds of shades sure that she knew of her fate. All they feared was that L, the person they could never understand, didn't get too curious about her and change the entire purpose for her capture. Though they knew he had even a stronger sense of justice than them combined, but couldn't help pursue his own interests. It seemed that there was a chance that he would be interested in the life of a notorious criminal.

"Actually, it was quite an interesting case. I hope you know since your capture is inevitable, you should not resist too much." L's computer voice said. "I apologize beforehand if your cuffs are too tight and hurt your wrists. I could not have gotten an accurate measurement for them."

Avarice was about to crack a smile at his strange choice of topics, but decided to not do that in front of all her pursuers. She didn't want them to start degrading her because of anything if they haven't already. Though the girl often feared her pride would get too inflated, she still had a sense of self-worth. They weren't going to take what little of it she has as a criminal.

"We ain't gonna let you do that. That little piece of trash had gave us enough trouble for tonighT so we either take her or or take we take her."

Trash?

Where did her switchblade go? She was sure she had it hidden in her boot. Moving her feet faintly, she felt it. Now, all she needed to do was to pull it out and fling it at the man's neck to teach him a lesson about calling her trash. When she was done with him, he'd be all sorts of ruined.

Before she could destroy him, someone else voiced their opinion. "Please refrain from use of insults. Since all we need is Miss Avarice, please leave quickly or I will be forced to take precautions." L warned.

Those few seconds L talked allowed Avarice some time to calm herself down. She shouldn't provoke the Neanderthals. If she did, they might pull out their wooden clubs and give her a good beating. Thoughts like these helped to distract her mind, lowering her need for violence to get her point across. She was halfway calm when she finished thinking about things of the sort, all with a terrible ending for the criminal group that taunted her.

Being criminals, they only had a few choices. If they let her escape or get captured by the enemy, they were going to be killed. If they got caught in trying to take her with them, they were going to be killed. If they succeeded in capturing her, they would be spared. That would mean going against L, whom they know all too much about. Going against L meant worse than the death penalty, but a worthless lifetime forced to be spent in a prison cell. They would rather die and know they did something useful rather than live to never gain back their freedom again.

Being a criminal herself, Avarice took pity on them. She knew of their limited options all too well. Since she was a higher rank criminal, her stakes are always higher and her punishments were always in different league than everyone else. Because of her rank and history, Avarice hadn't the slightest idea what her punishment would precisely be. Since she was going to be captured soon, she hoped to have a swift one, with as minimal pain as possible.

Avarice wasn't the type to care to much about her life when there was work to be done. She wouldn't mind too much if she had just been killed twenty minutes ago. Unfortunately, everyone had decided to drag the entire thing out, hence her now being caught in the middle of it. Avarice was a bit interested in the unfolding of events. If she had met L today, who knows what else will happen?

In a spontaneous burst of movement, everyone pulled out their guns, each pointing to a different person. It was a beautiful scene. Somehow they had all gotten a to their gun at the different person and no one seem to notice little Avarice anymore. Slowly, she backed up bit by bit, almost moving one feet away from the middle of the battle. Even that obvious movement was left ignored. The men were too busy trying to scare each other to remember their objective.

"Please do not shoot Miss Avarice. We need to capture her alive." L told everyone.

Avarice raised an eyebrow as they all started to finally realize that she was still in the room. It was offensive to see how quickly they had forgotten her. Even she knew it was a dumb move to forget that a notorious criminal is in the same room as you. She stood and waited, but they all just stared her down, no one making a move.

A few seconds later, she decided to do something. "Are you guys going to do anything? I've got places to be, people to meet, for god's sake!" She throwing her arm dramatically in the air.

She listened and heard exactly what she wanted to hear. Nothing. No one moved, no one shot. Now she knew that both groups were under orders to keep her body clean of bullets, she breathed out a huff of relief. Avarice half expected them to have shot her. Since she was still standing, uninjured and proud, that meant she was safe for now.

"It looks like no one is allowed the harm Miss Avarice. Since that is the case, you three must leave before I make all the police in the world go out of their way to capture you." L warned.

The criminals had no other choice but to either run or fight. They would be at a large disadvantage either way and would somehow end up being either locked up or killed. Choosing one of the better choices, they all dropped down their weapons and raised their hands up in surrender. They gave up. They had to give up. No matter how terrible and intimidating their boss might be, he couldn't do nearly as much harm to them as they knew L could.

It seemed to be a very tough decision. Finally, one of the criminals thought that he could solve the problem. Like the genius he wasn't, he sprinted forward towards Avarice and was about to grab her. He ran so fast with pumping adrenaline that Avarice barely had time to react.

Seeing his figure get too close for comfort, Avarice acted fast and jumped out of the way. She rolled over, eventually finding a way to unwind herself from her position as a ball. When she stood up to observe what happened to the rude man who tried to push her, she saw that he had landed on the police officer identified by his Afro. They were both in a clump of pain that distracted everyone in the room for a few moments.

Her mind was still a bit confused after the rush. The criminal whose name she will never learn seemed to try and stop his fall. He ended up bending his hand the wrong way, probably dislocating it. She winced at how painful it looked, but had an odd pride in it. It served him right. Maybe the next time he tried to tackle somebody, he'd dislocate his head!

"Well, I guess what goes around comes around..." she muttered, examining her pursuers.

Everyone ignored her again. The police immediately went to arrest the criminals, even the afro man who slowly go up and put cuffs around the ciminal with the dislocated hand. He seemed to click them a bit harshly, earning a quiet scream of pain from the man. Maybe getting tackled to the ground dampened his mood.

The black sheep police officer was ironically the one who went to cuff her. She had no idea why he of all the men was the one to cuff her, but it at least made things easier. She didn't struggle when he timidly clicked the handcuffs closed, taking away her freedom of movement.

Maybe it was just getting too tiring to fight back. Her entire week had been difficult and she honestly wasn't in the mood for fighting back. It'd be a large relief to just end it all, but that'd be stupid. She could never even think about that. If worse comes to worse, she would accept it. There really was nothing left to do.

She was "escorted out of the premise", just like she had seen in those cop shows. It felt funnier than it looked. When she was little, she imagined herself to be the escort-er, not the one being escorted. Though if it had happened the other way around, she was sure it wouldn't have been as much fun. She felt that she would have felt old and bossy if the opposite had happened.

They had of course placed extra cuffs on her hands and tightly placed a black blindfold around her eyes. She was a bit annoyed when they had to yank her head back roughly to tie that around her. Avarice could guess that it was the cruel afro-man who did that. He had no mercy, even for innocent-looking criminals.

After she was placed in the car, she had hit her head about twenty times. The two cops in the front seats drove who knows where. They turned in no particular pattern nor order and they turned like they were in a high-speed chase. Avarice was trying to keep quiet on the fact that Afro was doing this on purpose, probably trying to give her a concussion.

He had continued swerving the car and slamming her head against windows positioned on both sides for around thirty minutes before she finally decided that she couldn't always let things play out. She didn't fashion a bruise on her head, even if her expresso hair allowed no one to noticec it if it ever manifested itself.

Quickly and quietly, Avarice moved her hardly mobile hands to pull out a key she hid in her pants. While the pathetic cop arrested her, she snuck out his keys. Honestly, she had no clue why he didn't check for them even once or hadn't felt the empty space in his pockets. She played and tested with each of the many keys in the lock. Avarice had to do this based on touch since she couldn't very well see her progress.

For about five minutes, Avarice struggled silently. It was even more difficult because she had to keep from losing the keys each time the car caused her to slam her head to the window. They hadn't even bothered to put on her seatbelt for her, which was ironic since they were the ones who were supposed to enforce those rules. Finally, she managed to find the keys that unlocked each of the cuffs, setting her bruised hands free at last. When she did, she quickly untiedher blindfold, all her actions going somehow unnoticed by the cops. They weren't very good at their jobs, she noticed.

Out of defiance, Avarice decided to open up the window that her head became friends with and threw each of those items out from the moving car. That was all parts of illegal and it definitely did not go unnoticed by anyone in a car near them. She had gotten a lot of honks and yells, but had not caused a car crash just yet. Avarice wanted to do somethingto show these cops that they needed to watch their actions around her. She didn't get any of the respect that she deserved both as a lady and an impressive criminal.

The cops finally noticed something when the window was opened. Immediately, the older cop pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at her head. She noticed he didn't cock it beforehand. Avarice leisurely relaxed back in her chair and stared straight ahead. He hadn't shot her and she had been pushing her luck the entire day. If he just continued to stay in the exact same position and she was still alive, then it would have made it crystal clear to even a child that he would not shoot.

"Come on, L. You can't just watch me get all this abuse without intervening, can you?" She asked childishly, staring directly at the peculiar cake charms hanging on the front mirror. They obviously had some kind of surveillance camera on them to monitor her. Plus, they didn't look too convincing in an otherwise serious and boring police vehicle.

L had already deduced that she wasn't a complete brainless dit by now. Of course he would keep a close eye on her. If he allowed her alone with his less-than-dependable team of policemen, she would've been on her way to another country by now and they would have never noticed. He had watched her complicated escape step by step quietly, not giving his teamates a heads up. It was amusing to him how her emotions rapidly changed from calm to infuriated at the third time her head hit a window.

"I assume you know that you have been heading for nowhere for awhile now, Miss Avarice. Soichiro, Aiazawa, please drive to the " He said suddenly, noticing her staring into his cameras. "Also, your speed while you were unlocking those cuffs were quite impressive."

At L's command, Soichiro lowered his gun and Aizawa made a quick U-turn. The two cops were still uncomfortable being around such a criminal, but the fact that the detective considered her to be like a regular innocent was pushing the line. She had done many terrible things in her lifetime, that was for sure, but L still had found no need to lock her in her in an investigation room chained to the wall and attach electric collar around her neck. He seemed to see this as a science experiment, which was a scary thought in itself.

"T'is nothing, my detective. I owe my escape to that black sheep of yours, actually." Avarice said joked with a grin.

"Matsuda, you idiot..." L muttered quietly, not using his computer generated voice.

No matter how much history the criminal had, the men in the front seats couldn't exactly get themselves to hate her. In their now tiresome lives, it was all about the hardships of realities. She was one of the most wanted criminals in the world who had a knack for cracking jokes. Not to mention that she and L were two of the world's most unbelieveable people. No wonder they had gotten along so well.

Her refreshing nature reminded Soichiro, the older of the two policemen, of his own daughter, Sayu. They both made him forget about all the terrible things he was forced to see both through life and because of his career. Sometimes he didn't know how much of it he could take only to see people who have obviously been through much more than he could ever imagine to be so carefree. He wasn't an idiot. Soichiro knew this girl had big problems of her own. He only hoped his family would live a happy life, no matter how his own turned out. He hoped this girl could find her own reason for happiness and change.

Avarice had barely paid any attention to the gun that was briefly pointed at her. Instead, she focused on the empty night sky with only the lonely moon to keep her company. There was a sweet sense of nostalgia of her childhood days. She would always stare up at the skies, the skies that filled with the stars and beauty created from the dreams of the innocent hearts. Back then, she would look forward to when she could speak to the friends she could no longer see. She would name specific stars and speak to them as if they were her friends in the flesh.

L was contently staring at the monitor at the most peculiar criminal he had ever seen. Her glazed eyes looked to be staring at the blank skies, but it looked to him that they were in another time. Those weren't the eyes of a criminal, but at the same time they were. Too deep, too beguiling for any regular person and too hidden to be of anything else. Not only her eyes, but she herself had a symmetical frame which didn't prove too hard to focus on. In fact, it was so easy that he had forced his mind on the nice peace of cake near his hands.

It had taken a few events, but they had finally reached what Avarice suspected to be their destination. She had really no idea where she was heading, but she didn't exactly expect a large business-like building. It was actually a police station that she thought she would be sent. Maybe they would have to take pictures or investigate into her crimes her. She was a criminal who knew nothing of her counterparts, the people who brought justice upon them.

Avarice was still a child at heart, but when she actually was in her childhood years, she had prepared to get caught. She was actually expecting this to happen sooner or later, but she didn't expect to have to wait this long. She had already planned where she wanted to be buried. To be honest, most of her life happened when she was a child and still went by her real name. After that, life hadn't held anything else for her.

It was the older man who had opened the door for her, whom she guessed was Soichiro. She exited the car with all the grace of a lady and held her hands out, waiting for the obvious. There was no way even these terrible cops would let her roam around freely in such an expensive building. Soichiro didn't bother to hide his surprise when her hands were held in what looked like a surrender. He cautiously cuffed her and escorted her to Aizawa, who had already started inside the building.

It was an unfamiliar event to her. She had watched the two of the policemen go through complicated scans for about five minutes before the first door actually opened. It was exhausting to watch and she couldn't even imagine going through that herself. She'd even go through a five-hour chase than go through that five-hour scan. Even when they had finally got in, another series of scans started. Somehow, this one was even more intricate. Let be limbs be cut off, but don't let her through that scanning process.

It turned out the room she had entered was just as dark as the other building that she was originally at before these men caught her. The only upgrade was that she was allowed to sit on a comfortable couch, led by either Aizawa or Soichiro. It was black enough and it had no windows, which was both a relief and alarm. For the most part, Avarice didn't mind the darkness. It at least felt much safer than the abandoned building, which was ironic because she was directly in the hands of her enemies.

"State your name and occupation." A familiar voice demanded.

Today, Avarice was forgetful because she had completely forgotten where she had heard that voice from. She liked the voice, no matter how serious it sounded. It was smooth and deep, obviously that of a male's. There was a certain something about that made it nice to hear. She liked it, though she didn't know much about the owner of the voice. For now, she would listen and follow orders, if not to just hear the man speak again.

"The name's Greed, but I'm known as Avarice. I'm a top-rated criminal!" She answered cheerfully.

"Thank you. Please tell your age and social status."

"I'm 22 and in a way, I'm very respected. And yes, my favorite color is white." Avarice joked. It felt weird not being able to see who heard her joke. "That was what you going to ask next, right?"

"Are the sins working with Kira?" The man asked, much too straightforwardly. He didn't seem like he was expecting much of an answer, but who was Avarice if she didn't surprise a few people?

"No, sir. Isn't that kind of funny? Criminals working to help a man kill criminals."

"What is your personal opinion of Kira?"

Avarice couldn't help but notice how quickly the topic went on about Kira. Lately, he was all anyone could talk about these days. Maybe in this situation it was necessary, but it still bored the poor girl to death. "He's just some kid playing God and thinking the world owes him something for it."

It was never a matter of if she got killed, but a matter of how soon she got killed. Being killed by a notorious mass murderer content on offing criminals wouldn't have been the best way to die. It was frankly scary, but it was going to happen some time. Though she wanted to live for a bit longer to say her final words to the world's greatest detective and thank him for fighting. He had never truly sparked her interest, but she respected and believed in him at most. It had been awhile since she had believed in someone, though.

"Insightful." The man said, already deep in thought. Avarice could just tell by his distracted tone. "Do you have an idea as to why you are here?"

Avarice was a bit lost on how to answer this question. She never really cared enough as to why she was here being interrogated. All the girl knew was that she was lucky enough to be alive. There was no reason to dig down deeper. She might fall if she dug too far and Avarice didn't want to take the risk. Letting things go as they should was a good enough option. "You're probably going to decide on which punishment I deserve."

After those words came out of her lips, there was an accustomed silence. Avarice seemed to never cease to surprise them. She never cease to surprise anybody. That meant not many things surprised her. One of those most current things that did was the light suddenly getting flicked on, unpredictably enveloping the entire room.

Though the place had been filled with furniture, it still looked generally sparse. It looked like the owner didn't want to spent time on appearance. The way they were laid out had a useful and convenient pattern to them, really making lounging around the room easier. The light had certainly made relaxing on her sofa much easier.

Her eyes scanned the room quickly, but they soon landed on something in particular. That something was the most surprising thing she had witnessed since she was taught the fundamentals of the human body. Still, not many things had surprised her and only a select few out of those surprised her that much. This was a rare enough occurrence, but it only got even more unique.

For the first time in awhile, Avarice was left speechless. Sitting on a sofa across from her was L, judging from the laptop that had the letter L labeled on it on his desk. There weren't that many people in the room and the people who were were obviously not fit to be L. Since this man was the one she knew nothing about, she had presumed this was L. Usually, Avarice's instinct was right.

There was something different about him. Maybe it was how baggy his white shirt and blue jeans were or the way his black hair was messed up in a way that made sense. He was even sitting weirdly. His legs were propped up to his chest and somehow it looked too natural. She noted that he must have been very flexible. Though, it was probably his prominent dark bags under his eyes, making them stand out a bit too much. His irises were as black as his hair and bags, but his skin was a chalky white, pale from lack of sunlight. The strangest thing, Avarice noticed, was that anyone were to look closely, they would find that this particular man was very attractive.

After noticing his looks, she noticed his look. Avarice noticed that he was blankly staring directly at her, calculating every part of her. It seemed like this was a regular process for him. His stare was almost unsettling, how he seemed to look right through her. He had probably learned more about her in those few moments than what most people learn about her in a few years. It wasn't that it was creepy or scary, it was just making her squirm a bit.

Finally, she decided that the only way to deal with it was to meet him head on. She challenged him to a stare-off defiantly, trying to get him to stop analyzing her so obviously. It was a silent match and the two were at it fiercely. It looked like both were too childish to lose a victory, no matter how unimportant.

It was Soichiro who finally decided it was a tie with an uncomfortable cough. He and Aizawa had watched and listened to the entire thing. Only now did they realize that regular people and people like those two were very different. This was not something people could work hard for to reach. These two were difficult to create even if people used a couple tons of miracle. They were in their own league, a level much higher above the people you see walking on the streets. Those two were so strong that they hadn't dared to give up no matter how equal their wills turned out to be or how hard those wills clashed. It was a tie.

Avarice, being content with not losing the match, went to focus her attention on something other than the detective. In the middle of the two was a large glass coffee table piled high with sweets of every kind. She had her doubts about their safety, no matter how expensive and well-made they looked to be. She was in enemy territory so it could've drugged or poisoned. The possibilities multiplied by the second.

L had immediately noticed her doubtful stares at the food. He picked a piece of cake up and used a fork laying to eat it, just to show it was safe. He also didn't feel comfortable when someone had bad opinions about his sweets, they were his, therefore he would defend them like the gentlemen he is.

L ate, but at the same time, he studied Avarice closely. To some of the more deep thinkers, he looked to be trying to solve a difficult puzzle. Maybe it was a bit harder than most because it was blank, like he really had nowhere to start. Yet, he still managed to piece a lot together. That was his first puzzle because it seemed he would have to solve a lot more. Maybe L enjoyed the challenge.

"It's a pleasure, L." Avarice greeted with a smile,

"Likewise, Miss Greed." L replied, with an apathetic face. There had been a bit more on his mind while he stared at her this time than what he had in his mind when she was in the car. Though it may have been just an opinion, L noted that her smile was bewitching. Staring at it too long could be dangerous.

"Let's skip the formalities, L. Why don't you just call me Avarice?" She asked whole demeanor of the two had created a peculiar atmosphere. It was like they both were at an exquisite restaurant during a business meeting, finally meeting each other for the first time. It didn't seem like much to the two, but to the people who were levels below them, it was a powerful meeting.

L hadn't made any notification as he reached into his pocket. Quickly, he pulled out a key and went to open Avarice's cuffs. She had gotten so used to them that she hardly noticed that they were still present, nor the pain it inflicted in her wrists. Avarice didn't move too much when he did, staring at the man in disbelief.

"What do-!" Came a cry from a certain police officer who had a styled afro.

"Please do not be so rude, Aizawa. Miss Avarice is a guest and should be treated with such respects." He ordered, cutting the man off with a glance. Though L's expression hadn't changed, his words by themselves conveyed all the seriousness her needed to get across.

Avarice chuckled at the unusual turn of events. She was considered a guest in enemy territory, not like the criminal she really was. She would've been suspicious if she hadn't decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Avarice had many names and most were not very flattering, but she liked being relatively welcomed into a place. It was mostly because that made things much more convenient for her.

"Miss Avarice, I would like to ask you something." L suddenly said to her. He looked deep in thought and seemed to want to prepare her for such a question. No matter how surprising it was, Avarice decided to agree on account that he was generally polite to her.

"Ask away."

This time, L picked up another cake. He had long finished with his last one, but seemed to eat another only for the purpose of stalling. He was a record-fast eater, she saw, so it was quite strange for him to be downing his food so slowly. No doubt he dragged it out on purpose to try to keep from asking the question. It sparked a bit of Avarice's curiosity.

Avarice hadn't a clue about L's impending question. Though she wasn't much of a patient one, she would wait out of generosity. Meanwhile, she just rubbed her sore wrists and hoped her circulation would return. He had set her hands free, which meant she would be patient and pay him back the debt.

"Miss Avarice." L started, staring at her resolutely. "Will you be mine?"


End file.
